Electrically powered ceiling fans typically have a motor mounted within a stationary housing that is suspended from a ceiling. In operation, the motor rotates an annular array of individual extensions in the form of blade irons. Each blade iron is associated with a blade mounted thereto.
Ceiling fans are usually sold at retail with their blades packed separately from the blade irons for compactness. In mounting a ceiling fan, the housing is normally mounted in suspension from the ceiling through a downrod and then the blades are mounted to the blade irons and the blade irons are mounted to the motor.
The blades of ceiling fans are usually coupled to the blade irons by passing mounting screws through holes in the blade and into threaded holes in the blade iron. This task however can be difficult or tedious when the electric motor is already suspended from the ceiling. The difficulty is attributed to the fact that the mounting screws are usually passed from the top of the blade to hide the screw heads from view. The installer must align the holes in the blade with the holes in the blade iron while simultaneously passing the screws through the holes. The installer typically does this from a position below the ceiling fan, thereby limiting the installer's ability to view the mounting holes and thus aligning the mounting holes and drivably rotate the screws.
Accordingly, it is seen that a need remains for a blade that can be quickly and easily mounted to a blade iron. It is to the provision of such therefore that the present invention is primarily directed.